The Burdens We Share
by burningtrashheap
Summary: 16 years since Moriarty's return, and still no lead until Hamish Watson befriends a new girl at school. The pressure is on to finish the battle their parents started, will they have the courage to finish it once and for all?
1. Chapter 1

Prologue: It had been 16 years since Moriarty had come back, and Sherlock worked tirelessly to hunt him down. John, on the other hand, had started a family with Mary and they now had two children, Joanna and Hamish. John helped when he could get away, he dearly missed the rush of living on edge, solving crimes like something out of a film and so he always helped when he could. Sherlock thought of nothing else but Moriarty, and even stopped taking minor cases, which meant he had to turn to Mycroft for financial support; not an ideal lifestyle, but it would have to do.

Monday, November 1

It was just shy of 7:30, and the Watson household was abuzz with eager minds, preparing themselves for the day ahead. John, sat at the round table in the kitchen, Mary to his right both sipping their tea and occupying themselves with the paper in attempted to tune out the idle bickering of their children. John glanced at the clock before folding his paper, giving Mary a kiss on her forehead and rounding up the kids. "Hamish, Joanna, time to go!" He shouted into the other room, grabbing his coat and keys from the rack by the door. Joanna trotted in, her long, blonde hair tied carefully back into a ponytail, her eyes bright blue and full of intelligence. "Where's Hamish?" John asked, just before his son stepped in, a tired expression on his face, and yet a gleam stirring in his light brown eyes. His dusty golden hair was long around his ears and flowed the way it wanted to atop his head. John looked over his children fondly before asking "Ready?" and with two nods, out the door they went. They arrived at the school, children still rushing up the pavement into the doors to hide from the cold. The car doors opened and with a swift goodbye off went the children. They each went their separate ways, to join their own friends for a moment of mingling, and then the first bell rang summoning the masses of young minds to their classrooms.

Hamish made his way to his homeroom and sat in his seat, and next to him sat a girl he'd never seen before. She had long black hair, and a fair face, her nose and cheeks red from the cold. She looked nervous and unfamiliar as she glanced around the room. She had a white and red letterman jacket on, her hands shoved into the pockets. Hamish opened his mouth to say hello, but was cut off by Jaiden Smith, not quite a bully, but certainly the rudest boy you could meet. "Hey, you're sitting in my seat move." The girl looked startled before hastily gathering up her bag when Hamish decided to step in. "Hey, come on man, she's clearly knew here, don't be a dick about it." Hamish said disgustedly. "Why don't you stay out of it?" Jaiden retorted with a sneer on his face. Hamish stood up and stepped right in front of his opposition. "Why don't you learn some manners? Just find another seat, it's not like they're assigned." Jaiden rolled his eyes ad stepped back "Whatever man." And walked away. Hamish turned to the new girl who was standing beside him, quite awkwardly. "Thank you." She said quietly, looking to the floor. "No problem, that guy's a jerk. I'm Hamish, Hamish Watson." He introduced himself, extending a hand to, who he hoped was a new friend. She took his hand and smiled, "Cali. It's nice to meet you." They sat down and chatted for a bit before their teacher interrupted.

Several hours into the day, it was finally lunchtime and Hamish kept an eye out for Cali, hoping to sit with her and get to know her a little better. He walked slowly, scanning the room, when he finally saw her. He was relieved when he saw her smile at him from a distance and begin to trot in his direction. "Oh God, I'm so glad I spotted you, this place is a jungle!" Cali joked, tucking her thick black hair behind her small, dainty ears. "Yeah, it is. Hey, do you want to sit outside? I know it's a bit cold but there's a tree in the yard and it's much quieter." Hamish offered. Cali nodded "Yeah, let's do that." They made their way out of the noisy lunchroom and out into the brisk afternoon. They sat underneath a large tree, barren of leaves and yet still beautiful. "So, Cali, did you move to London or just to this school?" Hamish inquired "Oh, I moved to London just a week ago, from Ireland." Hamish smiled "Cool, you know I kind of hear the accent now!" He pointed out, Cali giggled and looked down at her sandwich. "What about you? lived in London long?" She reciprocated the question. "Oh yeah, all my life. It's nice most times, lots to do."

"You should show me sometime."

Hamish stopped and looked at her confused "What do you mean?"

"Well, you say there's lots to do so, we should go do them." Hamish blinked for a moment, coming to terms with what just happened. "Yeah, I mean, sure, yeah, we should totally do something!" He stammered awkwardly, drawing a laugh out of his new friend "So, what do your parents do?" Hamish said, moving along with the conversation. Cali's smile faded, just enough to be noticed. "My dad is…sort of a businessman I guess." She said hesitantly "And your mum?" Hamish inquired. "Haven't got one. I don't know where she is or why she left, just know she didn't want anything to do with me or my dad." She explained. The atmosphere got a bit tense, and the cold seemed colder as she finished her explanation. "I-I' sorry, I didn't mean to pry." Hamish apologized. "No, no, you had no way of knowing, it's all right. So what about your parents? What do they do?" Cali tried to make it less awkward by moving along with the conversation. "Well, my mum stays at home, but my dad's a doctor." This caught Cali's attention "A doctor? Wow! That's cool. Does he see a lot of weird stuff?" Hamish chuckled "I guess, I know one time a bloke came in, and dad said his whole arm was twisted around, all out of its socket." Cali's face contorted into a disgusted, yet fascinated expression. "Gross!" She exclaimed. They chatted through the rest of the lunch period which seemed to zip by in an instant.

The last bell rang and students darted out to their freedom, Hamish and Cali hung back not wanting to get drowned in the sea of people. "Well, I hope you had a good first day Cali." Hamish said, a kind smile on his lips as they stepped out into the front school yard. "You made it great Hamish, thanks for showing me around and being a friend." A car horn sounded startling them both. "Oh, that'll be my dad, bye Hamish, I'll see you tomorrow!" She turned and walked hastily towards a black car with tinted windows. Cali Waved one last time before sliding into the front seat. Hamish waved back as the car drove off. "Who was that?" His sister's voice startled him "Oh, a new girl, today was her first day. I just showed her around." He replied, not taking his eyes away from the direction where the car had driven off. "Oh, well thats nice. Come on, Mum's waiting in the car." Hamish pulled himself away and followed his sister to his own car.


	2. Chapter 2

November 5

One week seemed to zoom by for Hamish and Cali, they both felt like they had known each other for a lifetime. As the last bell rang that Friday, and the two jogged out of the building Hamish worked up the courage and asked "Hey, Cali, I know it's only been a week of knowing each other, but do you want to maybe hang out this weekend?" Cali's dark brown eyes lit up, and a smile graced her face "Yeah, I'd love to! I'll have to ask my dad of course, um do you have a phone number?" Hamish lept into action, fishing the smart phone out of his pocket. "Um, here go ahead and put your number in." He said handing her his phone, as she typed in the digits there was the familiar sound of a car horn, calling out for Cali's attention. She turned her head for a moment and ignored it as she finished typing in the numbers. "Ugh, so impatient." She commented irritably, "Here you go. Text me and let me know where you want to hang out and when and I'll let you know what my dad says." She gave Hamish a sweet smile which was broken by the car horn sounding off again. She rolled her eyes and gave a hopeless look to her friend "I'd better go, see you." She turned and trotted quickly to the car, sliding into the passenger seat.

"He asked if I could hang out this weekend." There was a silence, filled only by the hum of the engine and the muffled sound of tires on the road.

"Did he say where?"

"No."

"Get into the house if you can, even for a moment would work."

"I'll try."

"Hey Mum, I was wondering if I could hang out with a friend this weekend?" Hamish asked hopefully. "I suppose so. Which friend?" Mary asked, hardly looking away from whatever she was typing. "Oh, well her name's Cali, she's new to my school so you haven't met her but she's really nice." Hamish hoped his defense was strong enough to convince her. "Wait, a girl? Is this like a date?" Mary asked, looking away from her computer and giving her son full attention. "No, not a date, we've only just met! Just friends." Hamish said, blushing a bit at this point.

"Well, I'd like to meet this new friend, why don't you have her over tomorrow? Sh can have dinner with us if she'd like." Mary offered, turning back to her typing. "Yeah, I'll ask her, thanks mum!" Hamish jogged upstairs into his room, flopping on his bed. He pulled out his phone and sent Cali a text.

" _Hey, my mum wants you over for dinner tomorrow evening. You interested?"_

 _-_ HW

It was only a few minutes before Hamish's phone chimed back.

" _Sounds lovely, dad said yeah. I look forward to it :)"_

-CM

" _Cool, tomorrow around 5:30 then?"_

-HW

" _Tomorrow at 5:30. See you then."_

-CM

The next morning came and zipped by and all Hamish could think about was his plans for the evening. The day seemed to fly, and before Hamish knew it, it was already 5:00. The young man stood in front of a mirror they had hanging in the living room, looking himself over to make sure his appearance was satisfactory. His mind began to wander and he could feel himself getting nervous, but why? He couldn't already have a crush on a girl he's only just met! Right? Hamish's thoughts were interrupted by his father walking in the house, and with him his best friend of many years, Sherlock Holmes.

"Oh hey dad, hey Sherlock." Hamish greeted still distracted by his reflection.

"Hey Hamish, something interesting in that mirror?" John pointed out, hanging his coat on the rack by the door.

"Hamish is having a girl over." Joanna chimed in from the sofa

"A girl?" John asked, now very interested.

"Just a friend, we had a new girl join our school earlier this week and we just sort of hit it off, its no big deal." Hamish tried to defend himself

"Well, I think it's great" John said, walking into the kitchen to make some tea.

"Well, with that I should probably head off, I wouldn't want to ruin Hamish's, er, _special_ evening." Sherlock finally spoke.

"What? Don't be ridiculous you can stay if you want to." John complained, giving Hamish a look as if to say something.

"Yeah Sherlock, stay, I'd love for you to meet her, you can tell me if she's crazy or not before I get in too deep." Hamish joked, and Sherlock grinned.

"Well fine, then I guess I'll stay.' Sherlock agreed, plopping onto the couch next to Joanna.

It wasn't very long until the doorbell rang. "Oh, that'll be Cali!" Hamish said, excitedly running for the door. He opened it, and saw Cali standing there, a black scarf wrapped around her neck, blending into her black jacket she had on over a faded grey _Bee Gees_ T-shirt.

"Hey Cali! Come on in." Hamish greeted, stepping aside to let in his guest. Hamish took her scarf and coat and put it on the rack with the other coats.

"Cali, this is my dad and his friend-" "Sherlock Holmes." The two said the name almost simultaneously. "Uh, Yeah, Sherlock, dad this is Cali." Hamish finished introducing.

"Hi Mr. Watson, thank you for having me over. And Mr. Holmes, I've heard a lot about you, my dad is a bit of a nut about you." She followed up with an innocent laugh while Sherlock deduced her with a curious look. "Have I seen you before?" Sherlock asked in an almost accusing tone. Cali looked startled. "No, I don't think so, I've only just moved here from Ireland." Cali said sheepishly. Sherlock maintained his look of uncertainty while giving a brisk nod. The odd tension was broken by Mary walking into the room and announcing dinner.

"Ah, you must be Hamish's friend! It's nice to meet you, I'm Mary, his mum." She introduced herself kindly, holding out her hand politely. Cali took it gently and responded "Oh yes, I'm Cali thank you so much for having me Mrs. Watson." Mary looked up and shot John and Sherlock a small glare. "I see you've already met my husband and Sherlock, hope they haven't run you off already." Mary joked, but only half jokingly. "No, they haven't they've been lovely so far." Cali reassured politely. "Well let's eat before it gets cold." Mary chimed with a smile, ushering everyone into the kitchen.

They all sat around the table and began placing food on their plates. "So, Cali you say you're from Ireland? What part?" John inquired in attempt to acquaint himself with the young guest. "I'm lucky enough to be from Adare, small town in County Limerick." She said with a smile, sliding a fork full of food into her mouth. "What brought you to London?" Mary asked between small bites. "Dads on long term business, we'll be here for a few years, but not a solid chance of permanent residence." Cali explained, making brief eye contact with Hamish. "Your dad. What does he do?" Sherlock asked with a stoic tone. He stared at her with suspicion, and a bit of a glare. "He's a businessman, he works with all kinds of people." She answered, making direct eye contact. It felt like they were egging each other on and it made the atmosphere a bit tense. John and Mary shared a look of concerned amusement before Mary broke the tension "Your dad should join us sometime, maybe we could go out, get to know one another." Cali turned her head to Mary and gave an almost frightened look. "I don't think that would work out, he's so busy with clients and all, I hardly see him myself." She rubbed her hand over a light bruise on her arm, Sherlock noticed and softened his hawk like gaze. He quickly ran through the possibilities of abuse and concluded that it was very plausible. "Ah, well the offer's always open." Mary smiled. "Thank you, that's very kind."

The rest of the dinner was full of more small talk, nothing too heavy, but it was fun. After they finished eating Cali excused herself to the restroom for a bit. "Hamish, she's lovely." Mary beamed approvingly. The blonde boy smiled, and tucked his hands in his pockets "I guess she's alright." He joked. "Have you met her father Hamish?" Sherlock asked rather unexpectedly. Hamish furrowed his brow in confusion "No, I've sort of seen him though. He always picks her up after school, never gets out of the car though. Why?" sherlock shook his head."No reason to concern you with." Sherlock said, whipping his phone from his pocket, rapidly typing something before putting it back in his pocket. Cali reappeared into the living room, as her phone chimed. When she looked at the screen a flash of worry crossed her face, faintly but enough for Sherlock to pick up on. She looked up apologetically at her hosts and said "Thank you Mr and Mrs. Watson for having me over for dinner, it was very good, but my dad's outfront and I'd better be going."

"So soon?" Mary asked a bit disappointed. "Afraid so." She apologized. "All right then." Mary sighed, helping her with her coat. After she was all bundled up she gave one last look to Hamish and a sweet smile, "See you at school Hamish." And with that she stepped out the door.

A/N: Hey, sorry for the short and boring chapter, more to come in a few days. Thank you for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

November 9

Monday morning came, and Hamish sat nervously eyeing the still empty seat where Cali usually sat. He waited, anxiously eyeing the clock. " _Maybe she's just late."_ He thought hopefully. The bell finally rang and the day began, still no sign of Cali. Hamish shook it off, " _Calm down Hamish, she could just be at an appointment or something. Besides what business is it of yours?"_ He scolded himself and retrained his focus on the teacher. The class carried on and all heads turned when the door opened, and in walked Cali. Her hair was down around her face, and it was messy. She handed the teacher a late slip and briskly, yet also sheepishly hurried to her seat. It wasn't until she got closer that Hamish noticed the redness around her eyes; Not from the cold, she had definitely been crying. He shot her a concerned look, but decided to pass it up for the time being.

After the bell rang for lunch, Hamish hurried to catch Cali on her way out of the room. "Cali!" He called. She stopped and waited for him to catch up. "Hey, are you okay? This morning-" "I'm fine." She snapped and cut him off, stunning him into silence. "Sorry, I didn't mean to.." He apologized. Cali shook her head with regret. "No, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped. You're only trying to help." She looked away, wrapping her arms delicately around her chest. "Don't want to talk about it then eh?" He said with a chuckle, trying to lighten the mood. "Just a...rough night, and morning. Woke up late and my dad freaked out." She finished her explanation with a light laugh before she noticed Hamish's concerned look. "Hamish it's fine." She reassured. He didn't say anything, he just nodded and changed the subject.

After the day was over, they walked out to the front of the school as usual. "Cali, you'd tell someone if you were being hurt wouldn't you?" Cali turned to him, in disbelief. "What?"

"I mean, if you were being bullied, you'd tell someone right? Someone who could help you?" Cali furrowed her eyebrows and shrugged. "Yeah, I suppose I would." "Alright, but what if you saw someone being bullied? Would you tell then?" Cali thought for a minute the said "Yeah, I'd get help for them, but what are you getting at?" Before Hamish could say anything else he heard that familiar car horn, calling for Cali's attention. "Sorry Hamish, got to go." She turned and jogged to the car, quickly getting in.

"So?" A calm voice came from the driver's seat

"He bought it, he'll tell someone tonight." Cali gazed out the window.

"Ah, good, it'll be nice to have things sped up." The voice sighed, bringing a silence in the car.

"You're only after Sherlock right?" Cali asked hurriedly.

"What do you care?" The voice became low and threatening.

"I don't, I don't but...Hamish really doesn't have anything to do with this, you won't..." Cali paused, looking at her father, hopefully.

"I don't think I need you anymore."

A/N: Sorry for the short chapter. :)


	4. Chapter 4

November 11

Hamish stared blankly at the afternoon scenery through the car window. He hadn't seen Cali since the day she came to school crying. He kept replaying the conversation they had in his head, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt he should say something. When they got home, Hamish saw his dad sitting at the table on his computer. Hamish stopped and really thought about if he should say anything. " _What if it really is nothing?"_ he thought to himself. " _But what if something bad has happened?"_ Hamish finally sighed and went up to his room. He was playing on his phone, trying in vain to get the subject off his mind, but he couldn't seem to shake it. He needed to tell someone who wouldn't let it get out of hand, someone who had all the facts before doing something rash. Hamish felt his face drop when the obvious answer struck him. "Sherlock." hamish pulled up his contacts and started his message.

 _Hey Sherlock, it's Hamish. Do you remember the girl I had over for dinner a few nights back? Well, she came to school one morning in tears and she said something about her dad, but she hasn't been back to school since. I know it's not a lot to go on but I can't help but feel worried. Thoughts?_

-HW

It was about three minutes before the phone chimed.

 _Yes. That night she was going out of her way to be polite, she avoided eye contact and her posture was enclosed showing signs of fear. She rubbed her arm and looked down whenever myself or your dad talked, a nervous tick suggesting abuse from a male party. She came to school crying you said. Did she tell you anything specific?_

-SH

 _Not really, she said she'd had a rough night and morning, her dad snapped she said._

-HW

 _What was she wearing?_

-SH

Hamish's fingers shook when he typed

 _Longsleeves and jeans._

-HM

There was about 10 minutes of nothing. Hamish was becoming frantic, then finally the phone chimed.

 _Lestrade is doing a small investigation. Will keep you updated._

-SH

Hamish let out a sigh of relief before replying with a thanks. After pacing himself, he realized he was getting hungry. He trotted down the stairs and noticed he was alone.

"Hello?" he called out. "Mum? Dad? Joanna?" He looked in the kitchen, and in all the bedrooms, then downstairs to look in the sitting room and saw that last person he'd expect to.

"Cali?! What are you doing here? Are you alright?" He asked, rushing up to her. She was still silent, crying even. He noticed a light bruise on her fair cheek. "Cali?"

"I'm sorry Hamish." She sobbed, the tears streaming down her cheeks was the last thing he saw before the rush of pain and then immediate blackness.

Sherlock and Lestrade walked into the school office and were greeted by a kind elderly woman. "Oh, hi there! How can I help you gentleman today?" She asked

"Hi there, um, we're actually here on a small police investigation, nothing to worry yourself over." Lestrade explained cordially, displaying his badge. "You recently had a student transfer here. First name Cali, not sure of a last name, she's in year 10." Sherlock said coldly and hastily.

"Right, I have her file here." She said handing over the manilla folder. They flipped it open and it didn't take but 3 seconds for the severity of the situation to sink in.

"We've got to go." Sherlock said, dropping the folder and rushing out to the car. He immediately called John, no answer. He tried again, no answer. "Damn!" Sherlock said,shoving the phone in his pocket. Suddenly the phone rang again, "John? John! Hamish might be in danger!" Sherlock rambled into the speaker, but nothing but silence came back. "John?" He asked hesitantly.

"You know, it's funny how time changes things." A lax voice spoke. "Moriarty." Sherlock growled.

"Sherlock my old friend! How are you doing?" Moriarty asked casually. "Where is John?" Sherlock asked threateningly. "Oh he's here, with me. Don't you worry, I wouldn't start the party without you!" Moriarty said with a laugh. "Where are you?" Sherlock felt his fist becoming tighter with every word. "I'm in the spot we first officially met, It was our first standoff." Moriarty trailed off, for a moment. Sherlock was frozen with the purest rage. "Oh listen to me! Getting all nostalgic. See what you do to me Holmes? Well, I'll see you soon! Ciao love." And with the final click of the phone, Sherlock jumped into action. Lestrade already had the car running and ready.

Hamish groaned, wincing at the throbbing in his head. His eyes fluttered open and he took in his surroundings. It was dim and cold, everything was hazy and he couldn't quite make out things in detail. Hamish looked down to see his wrists zip tied to the arms of a chair, his ankles were tied tightly to the legs of the chair as well. He focused on his body to see if he was badly injured, he concluded he had just been knocked out and not seriously hurt. Hamish hung his head wearily, finding no point in a struggle when he thought he heard his name. " _Hamish…"_ It was faint and raspy, and he thought he was imagining it until he heard it again, but this time louder and clearer; it was his dad right behind him. "Dad? Is that you?" "Yeah it's me." The voice confirmed. "You alright?" John asked with a grunt. "Yeah, just a headache." "What's going on?" Hamish asked. "I have no idea." John answered.  
-

Lestrade drove as fast as he could while still in control, sirens blaring out a warning. Sherlock was deep in his mind palace, trying to devise a plan. He blocked out all of his surroundings, to focus on the different possible scenarios that could be waiting. Sherlock felt his mind begin to wander, he saw Hamish, Joanna, Mary and John all dead. Shot, stabbed, any horrible thing you could imagine. Tears welled in his icy eyes, clouded with rage and fear. Moriarty would pay for this.

"What about Mum and Joanna? Did they get taken too?" Hamish asked frightened, his voice shaking from a mix of fear and the cold. "Yeah." John choked the word attempting to stay strong. he'd never had a problem when he and Sherlock were in these situations, but he didn't have a family then. Hamish felt the lump in his throat growing larger, and the tears warm tears collectected in his eyes. His head was hung in defeat and a sense of shame when he heard a familiar whisper. He looked up and saw Cali standing there. Hamish opened his mouth, but Cali held a finger to her lips and begged for his silence. "Hamish, I'm not supposed to be here right now, but listen to me-" "You're not supposed to be here? I"M not supposed to be here! I can't believe you kidnapped me and my family!" Hamish hissed angrily, doing his best to keep his voice down. "I know you must hate me, and I don't blame you but I wanted to let you know you're mom and sister are okay." Hamish's expression changed when he heard about his mom and sister. "They're okay?" Hamish asked "Yes. Not even tied up. Just locked in a room. I don't know what he plans on doing but please know I didn't want this." Cali had tears trailing down her cheeks, her body trembling. Hamish looked at her with pity and sympathy before she straightened up. "I need to go, before he notices I'm gone. Sherlock is on his way here." Her final words brought a sense of peace to both Hamish and John.

The police car squealed to a halt in the parking lot of their destination. Sherlock ran up the steps turning to Lestrade "You stay here, call for backup, best call an ambulance as well." Lestrade nodded and flipped open his mobile, doing as asked as Sherlock burst through the doors of the building. All the lights were off, the only light being cast in from the glass doors and a few windows. Sherlock walked with purpose, heading to the pool area. It wasn't long before he got to the metal doors, and pushed them open. He saw John and Hamish tied in chairs, back to back. The both looked alright, no injury done. "Sherlock!" John said relieved. "Have you seen him?" Sherlock asked demandingly, inspecting the zipties, racing to find something sharp to cut them with. "Him? Him who? Sherlock who's doing this?" As the last words left John's lips, a casual yet ominous humming came from the far end of the room. Moriarty stepped out from the shadows, his hand gripped around the nape of Cali's neck. Cali was trembling, quietly crying, a red and light purple mark sat on her cheekbone, and blood on her lip. "Moriarty." Sherlock hissed the name like it was poison. "Sherlock Holmes! Death has done you wonders, Look at that body! Seems Watson didn't get so lucky." He chuckled, releasing his grip on the girl. "What do you want with John and his family? They don't have anything to do with this." Sherlock tried to reason. Moriarty twisted his face into an exaggerated expression of thought before answering. "Well,nothing really but you like them and they like you and, I _wanted_ you, so...I cooked the bacon and called the dog." Sherlock didn't care for Moriarty's casual behavior. "Let them go." Sherlock commanded. "What?! No way! I want to kill them first! That way, when I get around to you, I'll have the satisfaction of knowing that you died with no one on this earth who cared about you. You will be broken and eliminated." A silence fell on the room, the atmosphere was tense. "Well, now that our guest of honor has arrived,I suppose we can bring on the other two." Two men brought out mary and Joanna, hands tied, and gagged." Hamish started crying at the sight, John sobbed at even the thought. Sherlock stepped back and relaxed himself, trying not to overreact. Mary and Joanna seemed fine, they didn't look like they had been harmed. "Oh Sherlock, do me a favor, and untie John. Catch!" Moriarty chimed, tossing a pocket knife to Sherlock. He caught it, and examined it to make sure it was safe. Sherlock quickly undid John's ties, and John sprung up, a glaze of pure rage over his eyes. Sherlock went to undo Hamish, but was stopped at the sound of guns cocking. "I said John. Leave the boy there, and John, you can come over here, see your wife and daughter. Moriarty said. John didn't budge, out of defiance. It was about 45 seconds before Moriarty said "Ok, fine. Go get him." The two men that had brought in Mary and Joanna walked briskly towards John, who looked ready to fight. As soon as they were in reach, John swung and cracked the first man in the jaw, but almost instantly a loud bang went off and a few screams of agony and fear filled the room. John lay on the ground, cradling his bleeding leg. "I'm not messing around anymore, I'm getting bored!" Moriarty shouted, his voice growing serious and impatient. The man who shot John, picked him und cuffed his hands behind his back, escorting him to the other side of the room. "John.." Mary whimpered to her injured husband. He took her hand reassuringly, giving her a nod that he was alright. "All right then! Let's get going shall we!" Moriarty announced, swinging his arm out, pointing a gun at Mary. Mary glared at him, not saying a word. He stood frozen for a moment, but then retired the gun to cali, who was standing quietly beside him. "Shoot the boy." He said, stepping back. Cali looked up at him in disbelief. She opened her mouth to say something but decided against it. She swallowed hard and looked at the gun in her shaking hand. She moved her foot to walk but couldn't move. Moriarty rolled his eyes and shoved her forward, walking behind her, and pushing her until they were right in front of Hamish. "Please don't make me do this." She sobbed. Moriarty's hand grabbed her hair and wrenched her head to face Hamish. She let out a small shout of pain. Sherlock stood frozen, livid at the whole situation. Cali raised the gun to Hamish's forehead, she closed her eyes, pushing large tears down her cheeks. "I'm sorry."

 _BANG_


	5. Chapter 5

The sun had gone down by the time they all got out. Red and blue sirens illuminated the night, and sirens wailed in the distance. Medics checked over the survivors, and solemnly loaded a gurney into one of the ambulances. Cali's eyes stared intensely at the body bag on the stretched bed. She swallowed back tears and thought of what consequences lie ahead of her. Detective Inspector Lestrade walked over to her, still in disbelief of the whole situation. When Cali saw him walking closer, she wrapped herself tighter into the blanket. "Cali Moriarty?" Lestrade asked, "I'm going to ask you a few questions." "Are they going to be okay?" Cali's voice was hoarse and quiet. Lestrade looked over to the Watson family, who were comforting each other. "Yeah, I think they'll be alright." He sighed. "I do have some important questions to get through, first off, Are you biologically related to James Moriarty?" Cali shook her head. "What was your relationship with James Moriarty?"

"When I was nine, my real parents were killed. He took me in." She said hushed. A look of fear and pain glazed over her eyes. "Do you have any other family?" She shook her head. "This is off the record, but if Moriarty took you in, why would you kill him?" Lestrade waited for an answer, but was greeted with temporary silence. "He didn't take me in exactly...my parents owed him money, we were so poor...He made me watch my parents get shot and kidnapped me. He took me to some rundown apartment and left me there for so long...I don't know how long. I tried to escape but he always found me and hed lock me back up until I stopped trying to escape. After I accepted my fate, I was just waiting to die. Then he came back and took me to this nice house, and he made me swear to being his slave in return for my life. I never thought it would get this far, I didn't want to kill anyone!" She started sobbing. Lestrade looked at this young girl with pity. "Alright then." Lestrade tucked his pen and paper into his jacket and walked over to where Sherlock stood talking to Mycroft, who must have arrived while he was interviewing Cali. "She's a mess, there's no way she has an ounce of bad in her. I don't know what I'm going to do." Lestrade ran a hand through his silver hair, letting out huff of air. "She obviously has a strong tie to Moriarty she lived with him correct?" Mycroft asked, glancing at the trembling girl on the ambulance. "He kidnapped her. Killed her parents and basically made her a slave, she had no control over anything that has happened." Lestrade hissed, standing up for the young victim. "Calm yourself detective inspector, I don't intend to lock her up like a criminal. Simply access her knowledge in hopes of breaking down Moriarty's inner workings for good." Mycroft's elegant voice make everything sound like a con, but with a reassuring nod from Sherlock, Lestrade submitted and led Mycroft to the girl still with some hesitation.

"Hello, my name is Mycroft Holmes and I have a sort of proposition for you."

Cali turned her innocent eyes to the official looking man looming over her.

"What do you want?" She asked shakily.

"I understand you have just been through quite the ordeal." He began, a serious tone taking his face.

"Bit of an understatement...But you aren't the police, who are you?" Cali asked skeptically.

"I'm someone who a help you in exchange for your help." Mycroft aid, shifting his weight onto one foot. "The last time I heard that I was kidnapped." Cali said, half jokingly. Mycroft smiled, well, smirked at her humor. "Yes, so I've been old. I'm prepared to offer you a real home, with any accommodations you'd like, with full protection of myself and every special forces unit in the world, in exchange for information on Moriarty." Cali looked down at her feet reluctantly. "What makes you think I know anything?"

Mycroft raised a suspicious eyebrow, "Don't you?"

Cali was silent, clearly thinking over her options. "Alright, fine. I'll go with you, tell you everything I know." She agreed.

Cali stood up and followed Mycroft to the black car in which he had arrived. Hamish saw her, and walked over to her hastily. Cali saw him and was brought to tears by seeing him smile. "Cali, where are you going?" He asked. "I… I guess I'm going with Mr. Holmes here, to help break down Moriarty's web." She answered flatly. The sweet smile on Hamish's face dropped. "When will I see you again?" He asked. "I'm afraid you won't see her again Hamish." Mycroft answered. "What? Why not?" He protested. "She is to valuable an asset, she must be protected at all costs, and frequent interaction with a civilian could endanger her and yourself." Hamish thought of saying something else, but looked at Cali and saw her look of peace. "So, this is goodbye?" Hamish asked. "I guess it is." Cali leaned over and planted a small kiss of Hamish's cheek. "Goodbye Hamish." She slipped into the black car and drove off, leaving Hamish to wonder.

And that was the last of Moriarty.

A/N: I'll be perfectly honest, I think this story had more potential than I gave it. I plan to go back and re-write it, and post the upgrades so, don't hate me! Thank's to all of you who read this..um...thing, stay tuned for The Burdens We Share: REVAMPED


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